Well Said!

Another boisterous morning with Renu Babani walking in to a volley of squeals for toffees and chocolates for having absented herself yesterday. Barely three days back, she had distributed toffees (see 94th blog post, Return of Prodigals of October 18) to atone for an extended period of absence from the Club. Now that expectations have been raised, she cannot afford to take even a day off – without being badgered for toffees.
The real surprise though, was the return of Mrs Kiran Arora – Arora-sah’b’s better half. All these days, she used to be often sighted in and around the Garden; but for some reason, she refrained from joining us for the exercises. Today, she took everybody unawares by being her usual jovial self and not only took part in the proceedings, but also kept chatting up the ladies while her hubby conducted the exercises in the middle. Only once did the latter raise his voice at her, but indirectly: “Dono Kiran, baatein baad mein!” The other Kiran happened to be Kiran Sajjan, one of the most silent and self-effacing souls imaginable.
The thing about Arora-sah’b (which did not go unnoticed) is that he likes being the man in charge – verily, the boss – so long as his wife is not around. He calls the shots, barks orders and pulls up recalcitrant members at will. Nobody dare disobey him. But the moment his wife shows up, a transformation sets in and he becomes restrained – almost a pale shadow of himself.
Harish Wadhwa took a dig at Arora-sah’b by likening him to a sher (lion) – for the way he conducts himself, his commanding attitude, dressing style, voice, etc. But why does it all have to peter out in the presence of his wife? The analogy, narrated in the form of a joke, ends with the apocryphal man complaining: “Baahar toh main sher hoon, par ghar mein Durga mere upar sawaar ho jati hai!”
Obviously, this applies to all married men.
In the pic: Mr and Mrs Arora

Renu Babani says:
Yes indeed, I was welcomed with a chant of "chocolates" and that was a hilarious start to the morning. The exercise was fun today, considering Mr Arora was also chatting in the midst of the session and everyone was cheerful no doubt. Mrs Arora was a pleasant surprise no doubt and it will be great to have her around often. Rest assured ladies, chocolates WILL NOT be distributed unless I do not attend in the morning for two weeks or more... maybe, even a month now! After all, what is the point of doing the exercise if we stuff ourselves with chocolates later on? Besides, don't we try to find any occasion to celebrate... so we can have fun anyway?
--Renu